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Thursday, 1 December 2011

The $21 Challange - Breakfasts and Lunches

Well by the time I got to the end of my post the other day I figured I had waffled on long enough. I hadn't really thought about the fact that breakfast and lunch did not even get a mention even though they were included in the challenge and the $19.45 I spent that week.

A comment by the lovely Ali over at Mud Pie reminded me that I really should finish the story.

So to fill in the gaps this is what we did for breakfasts and lunches on the weekend.
Sat - Poached eggs (from the chickens) on Home made sourdough
- Left over stir fry from the night before
Sun - Porridge with sultanas
- Toasted Sandwiches
During the week we generally have left overs for lunches and each of us has our own breakfast. I find it far easier to cook dinner for 4 and have the option of another dinner or lunch the next day. It also saves on fiddling with recipes to downsize them for two.

I work from home so I tend to have cereal and yogurt for breakfast most mornings. I had cereal in the cupboard and I have an esiyo yogurt maker that I use to make youghurt using powdered milk, again this was in the cupboard. During the day I have almonds and fruit or cheese and crackers as snacks and sometimes dried fruit but I find this quite sweet. Lunches this week were Tuna Salad, leftover beef salad, zucchini slice for 2 days and Penne Putanesca.

Hubby gets up early and has a long day of very physical work so don't be too shocked when you read how much he eats and still manages to stay a trim 78kg.
At 4am he has 4 slices sourdough toast for breakfast then takes the larger portion of leftovers the same as what I have. He then adds some raw veggies (at the moment a couple of carrots, some beans, some cherry tomato's and a cucumber, it depends what is in the garden or in season) a tin of baked beans, some baking (muffins or biscuits or Bird Seed Bars) a boiled egg or two, a couple of apples and a container of dried fruit and nuts.
And every afternoon the lunchbox is empty!

This week I did a normal shop for us which is normally about $70 - $110 p/w depending on if there is anything on a bulk special and if I buy any meat. I don't think we spend a lot on food (even though the way Hubby eats we are shopping for three) and I don't think we are scrimping either.In the $21 challange it talks about the average household of four people spending $320 per week on food(maybe even more) and this figure seems really high to me. I know we have chickens and a vegetable garden and don't eat a lot of processed food but even still....

4 comments:

I menu plan , grow a certain amount of veg, home bake cake+slice or biscuits for the week. I sometimes home bake oat bread which my children eat instead of cereal.I may go to the shop once a week, and then a top up shop for fruit/veg/milk later...I try and I say I try to go for the $100.00 shop....I can do it, and its frugal....so on the other trips when I go over it, say for instance we need toiletries and meat, then it will of course by over. So yeah, I think those $350.00 trolleys are the ones that are loaded and I mean loaded with processed, frozen, and convenience meals......if you cook from scratch your trolley shouldnt be overflowing (except when loo paper is on spesh!) and it should be full of healthy looking foods...real foods, not packets!

Hi Fiona - great post.I think that $320 would contain lots of the following - cartons of Coke, bulk packs of chips, dips and lollies. I am astonished how much rubbish trollies hold! I am also saddened when I hear a parent tell a child 'NO you can't have a mango they are $2!!!!'.... and the trolley is full of the above mentioned items!I think you are doing well on the challenge, living well, but not excessively. Certainly have chooks and veggie garden helps out a lot.cheers Wendy

Words To Live By

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; succeed anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway.
Give the world the best you have, it may never be enough; give the world the best you have anyway.
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About Me

I am a married 30 something who is keen on living a simple life. At home we focus on eating real unprocessed foods, we use natural remedies when required and try to be as self reliant as possible.
I am a keen cook, fledgling farmer, avid reader, soap maker and enthusiastic gardener.
My husband and I moved from the middle of Brisbane to country Kilcoy so that we could live a simple, uncomplicated life away from the constant pressures of consumerism but have sold up our farm and moved back to the suburbs as we plan our move to New Zealand in 2016. We have already purchased a property there which we are slowly getting set up. We would like to be parents one day and believe that our lifestyle and values will give any children a healthy balanced life.
We are joined on this adventure by our 5 year old dog Jessie and look forward to having chickens and other farm animals again in the near future.